Cryogenic vacuum pumps having a vibration damping means have found many industrial uses in applications that require a non-contaminating and noise free environment, such as electron microscopy, gamma ray sensing, electron beam and x-ray, lithography, certain types of spectroscopy and other measurement and detection applications where a vibration free environment is necessary. Generally in such applications, it is an object to provide a vacuum produced by cryogenic refrigeration that is mechanically isolated from the sensitive detection or other instrumentation means.
Among disclosures in the prior art of damping means to produce a vibration free environment for a cryopump are means described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,894,403, "Vibration Free Refrigeration Transfer", issued on July 15, 1975 and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,217 "Vibration Damping Apparatus" issued on Dec. 14, 1962. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Allentown, Pa. 18105 also manufactures a line of commerically available cryopumps useful in applications that must be free of pump induced vibration.